John Murphy
section: Interviews
Dr. John Matthew Murphy Jr. grew up in Brooklyn, graduating from Second Ward High School in 1953. He then left to attend Howard University, Morgan State College and Meharry School of Dentistry. After time serving in the army and working in Ohio as a dentist, he returned to Charlotte in 1973 to serve in the Mecklenburg Country Health Department and as a visiting clinician at Charlotte’s Memorial Hospital Dental Department. In 1979 he helped originate the Metrolina Health Center now known as CW Williams Community Health Center. When he left Charlotte in the 1950s, Brooklyn knew that urban renewal was coming, by the time he returned in the 1970s the community was gone.
James Polk
section: Interviews
Mr. James Polk was born in Grier Heights (an African American community initially outside of but eventually incorporated into Charlotte, North Carolina; he lives there today. Since he did not live in Brooklyn, he brings a different perspective than most of the people interviewed to get information and meaning about Brooklyn. Mr. Polk had, however, worked in Brooklyn, and visited the community. Working at his uncle’s funeral home, Grier Funeral Home, he got a chance to know its residents from an intimate vantage point. As a man who worked in and visited Brooklyn, Mr. Polk saw its many black businesses and the pride the community took in the stores it patronized. Jim Polk saw urban renewal wipe out Brooklyn. Still, he insisted that urban renewal was good for the community, because some of its residents went from dilapidated housing to better housing. Mr. Polk thinks it is important to tell younger generations about their history, so they will have greater knowledge of their origins and will take pride in them.Read more…
James Ross II
section: Interviews
Mr. James Ross II is an active member of the Mecklenburg County Black Heritage Committee. Mr. Ross was raised in Grier Heights and spent the summers in and out of Brooklyn with his grandfather. He is an active supporter of the United House of Prayer for All Peoples. Mr. Ross considers himself an amateur historian and speaks extensively and with confidence about his memories. He has been active in the African-American community since his youth. One experience he had with Mayor Brookshire appears in Alex Coffin’s book Brookshire and Belk: Businessmen in City Hall. In his professional life he has been a Management Consultant.Read more…
Mary Poe
section: Interviews
Mary Poe was born in Mecklenburg County in 1945, spent her childhood in the Brooklyn neighborhood. As a resident of 1st Street, she attended Second Ward High School from 1958 to 1965 and she recalls the supportive atmosphere that was fostered at the school by her teachers. Mrs. Poe also fondly remembers the some of the social events in Brooklyn, including dances at the high school and at the YMCA where students from all over the city would congregate to socialize. One of the most revealing aspects of Mrs. Poe’s oral history is her consideration of what it was like to be a young woman in the Brooklyn of the 1960s, including the classes that she was required to take at school and the requirements for getting married. As a resident of Brooklyn during the urban renewal period, Mrs. Poe spends time in this interview discussing how the process of urban renewal was perceived by the community, what the residents of Brooklyn were promised by the city, and what they actually received.
Mary Poe participated in an interview with Dolores Giles. See: Dolores Giles & Mary Poe
Mary S. McGill
section: Interviews
Ms. Mary S. McGill did not grow up in the Brooklyn community, but became a member of Friendship Baptist Church in 1949, commuting from the Mount Holly area. Sister McGill recounted memories of her activity as a Deaconess and leader in the music ministries of the Church. She and Deacon Walter Kennedy recorded the first album for the Church and continued recording after moving from Brooklyn to help raise money for choir robes and other items the Church needed.
Sister McGill was also the Chairwoman of the Missionary Study and had much to say about the life of the pastor at the time in Brooklyn, Reverend Kerry. Sister McGill mentioned many places of business and locations of other Churches in the Brooklyn area and what stands in their places today. Ms. McGill participated in a group interview with other members of Friendship Baptist Church.
Ms. Mary S. McGill is included in the Friendship Missionary Baptist Church Interview